How to GoDot

Workshop
Page 1
How to GoDot
By Arndt Dettke
Working on clips (Part 2, Using Clips)
I very much like to sign my works as “created with GoDot”. Many C=64 painters do so as
well. So, how about painting one signet once for all
time, and then easily adding it to every image just
by clicking? That’s what is covered in this issue.
August, 2003
After installing and executing it, you are
presented with our gray logo area, eight times
enlarged. The top and bottom frame lines are too
thin, we add a second pixelline by first choosing
red and then clicking into the image. Each click of
the mouse produces one dot of the chosen color
(you can hold the mouse button down, also). If you
failed, just choose light gray and overwrite the
badly set pixel.
We need some tools: mod.ClipWorks, svr.4BitClip, mod.PixelEdit, and ldr.4BitGoDot. We
will create both a logo and a text signet, they will
be made for multicolor mode, and they will be
small. The logo is best at 3x3 characters, whereas
the signet should be 5x1. Let’s start with the logo.
First, we clear the image to black. Install
mod.ClipWorks and execute it. To be sure we
erase all, click on “Full”, thus resetting the clip
values to fullscreen (0, 0, 40, 25). Now, hit
“ClrClp”, choose black, press “Inside” (there’s no
outside on a fullscreen…) and then press “Leave”.
Stay in ClipWorks and set a clip of 3x3 in the upper left corner of the image. The background of the
clip looks best in light gray, so enter ClrClp again
and apply that color to the clip. Finally, “Accept”
your settings.
This fractal created with Mandelbrot Construction Set on a C=64
Since the logo is considered for multicolor
mode, we have to paint double pixels and care for
setting them to even dot positions. Also, the logo
I framed the clip with mod.FrameClip (see
HtG #1), color: red, and then displayed the image
to gain a first impression. Ok. So far, this was the
warm-up, now we step into the real work which
comes to you as mod.PixelEdit.
This headline created with GoDot
shouldn’t contain more than three colors. Don’t use
the background color, which is the color GoDot
fills the screen with when starting PixelEdit (black
in our case).
The editor screen of PixelEdit, the crosshairs delimit characters
Try the “G” of my example or whatever
you like. The expert use of mod.PixelEdit will be
covered in another issue of HtG. When finished,
“Exit” the module and “Display” it again for final
examination.
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Workshop
To take advantage of our work, we will now
save it. Install svr.4BitClip and click “Save”.
(Note: the clip values still apply!) Choose the drive
you want to save it to, enter a filename (click on
default "Untitled" and use C=x key to clear the
filename; I typed in "G-Logo.clp"; press Return to
set the name) and hit “Save”. We’re done with the
work, and turn to leisure now.
August, 2003
After you set the clip and saved it, load
some more graphics and insert the signet in them.
But this time you don’t “Replace” the clip area.
Instead you “Compose” the clip as “Foreground”.
“Display” the result. See the difference? The black
background from the clip didn’t load! All these
pixels were transparent instead! Again: wow! How
to take advantage of this feature is the next issue’s
topic. Meanwhile, enjoy Dale sitting at his 128. :-)
Mod.PixelEdit - Module created by our old Commodore fellow Hugh McMenamin from Peoria.
(Hi, Hugh, how’s it going?) There are many shortkeys to use in edit mode which we’ll cover in another article to keep this one shorter.
A former GIF image converted to GoDot
Install ldr.4BitGoDot and load any image
you like to be signed. “Display” it. Install mod.ClipWorks again. Determine a position where to
place the logo. You may just click the upper left
corner of that position or pull the whole 3x3 clip.
“Accept” your choice. Start the loader. This time
you change the “Load to” option to “Load to Clip”
(or “Load into Clip”). Click “Replace” and choose
your logo from disk. Hit “Load”, and leave the
loader. “Display” the finished image, and wow!
Enter mass production…
The gap between the letters is 2 pixels, the crosshairs delimit 1 tile
For the text signet I’d like to introduce you
to another way of overlaying images. Preparation:
clear the image to black and install mod.PixelEdit.
Execute it.
This time we leave the background black,
later on you’ll see the reason why. Choose light
gray as your ink color and start editing your text
(my text is “GoDot”). Take care your text is vertically between two crosshairs.
Svr.4BitClip - Saves the current clip to disk.
Please add “.clp” as a name suffix to the filename
to determine clips from standard 4bit images.
Owners of an REU have the choice of saving the
clip to their RAM extension unit. Select RAM as
the target unit, and explicitly enter “temp00” as the
clip’s filename. All 4bit loaders will accept
“Temp” as a another source thereafter.
Command history
(Inst: ClipWorks)
Execute
Full
ClrClp
(Select:) black
Inside
Leave
Clip 0, 0, 3, 3
ClrClp
(Select:) light gray
Inside
Leave
Accept
Inst: FrameClip
Execute
(Select:) red
Exec
Exec Area: Full
Display
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Workshop
Inst: PixelEdit
Execute
Color: red
(Edit…)
Exit
Display
Save: 4BitClip
Save “G-Logo.clp”
Load: 4BitGoDot
Load Replace “any_nice_image.4bt”
Display
Inst: ClipWorks
Clip: ??, ??, 3, 3
Accept
Load
Load into Clip
Replace “G-Logo.clp”
Exec Area: Full
Display
Overlaying method:
Load
Load into Clip
Compose Foreground “G-Signet.clp”
Exec Area: Full
Display
You can see the difference between “Load
to Clip” and “Load into Clip” if you set a clip
smaller than the one you’re loading. Have a try!
This image was heavily processed by GoDot (text in the back with
grainy borders, the surroundings of Dale eliminated and overlayed to
the text)
August, 2003
Exclusively for this issue of the UCUGA
digest I updated three GoDot modules which can
be freely downloaded from my site (find it at
www.godot64.de): svr.4BitClip (with added tempability), mod.StretchClip (bugfix), and ldr.4BitGoDot (another bugfix).
Have fun using GoDot!